When Melissa Heidrich?s doctor discovered a lump in her neck in June 2009, she reassured Melissa that it was likely benign, but Melissa soon found out she was one of the growing group of women being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After surgery to remove the mass and radioiodine treatment to kill the cancer, Melissa was tentatively ready to move on with her life.
But it wasn?t long after Melissa returned to work that she was called into her boss's office. She had a feeling her bad luck might not be over, and in fact, she soon learned that she was joining the ranks of over 15 million* Americans who were unemployed and that instead of looking forward to a possible 10% bonus, she was now part of the 10% unemployment rate.
When Melissa learned that her entire team?10 people in all?had also been let go from Her Interactive, Inc., a video game development company, an idea took hold. This could be the perfect opportunity to turn her luck around and join together with her colleagues to create a new product: something that her former company would never have authorized, yet was unique, appealing to women, affordable, and offered good old-fashioned fun.
Melissa then did something we all think of doing from time to time while browsing through Facebook; she actually picked up the phone and reached out to one of her old high school friends from Lakeside School in Seattle, whom she hadn't seen for years except for at reunions. That friend was New York Times bestselling author, Marjorie M. Liu. Melissa wanted to create a video game unlike any other: a romance casual game written by, designed by, and created for women, which would feature cut scenes that closely followed a romance novel's storyline. Liu had the perfect novel in Tiger Eye, a novel in which a woman with psychic powers inadvertently summons an ancient warrior with whom she falls in love.
Melissa?s former co-workers had produced several award-winning Nancy Drew games together and were ready for something new, something more . . . spicy. They started up a brand new company in order to continue working with one another. With Marjorie on board to write the script based on her novel, a dream that seemed almost impossible to realize a few months ago became a reality?and PassionFruit Games was launched.
Marjorie, once a nerd who hung out with a bunch of computer geeks in the math department where another alma mater, Bill Gates, did his first programming, and Melissa, a science major with a great sense of humor, are now in the midst of writing and creating Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box, which will launch this April 2010. Marjorie is writing the game script and is advising on every aspect of the game, and Melissa, as the Studio Director of PassionFruit Games, is overseeing the creation of all the riddles, art, and other components that will go into the game.
Says Marjorie of her decision to work with Melissa to turn her beloved novel into a video game: ?I really felt like Tiger Eye would be in good hands, and that, given our past, Melissa and I would be able to talk about things in ways other co-workers, co-creators, or co-whatevers wouldn't be able to: as friends who used to sit on dirty floors with the guys while they told fart jokes.?
The two women want to share the love by creating different ways to spread the word about the new Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box romance casual video game. Beginning this week and leading up to Valentine's Day, anyone who adds the hash tag #Share Love to their tweets will be counted towards the 300 tweets the two friends are collecting towards their donation of a desktop with the Tiger Eye game downloaded on it to a New York City area women's shelter. Melissa and Marjorie hope the game can inspire women that are down and out to try to turn their luck around . . . and maybe even start their own companies.
*Source: According to the November 2009 report from the US Bureau of Labor statistics
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Order Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box now at http://www.passionfruitgames.com
Players can now pre-order the Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box $ 6.99 standard package, which includes instant download of the game?s opening cinematic, ?Dela?s Dream,? and a link to download the game when it releases in April.
Players will also have the option to choose the $ 9.99 premium package, which includes ?Dela?s Dream? and a link to the game when it goes on-sale in April; but also features the MP3 of the Tiger Eye theme film-quality soundtrack composed and scored for full orchestra by critically acclaimed composer Matt Sayre; concept art of the male heart throb, Hari; exclusive wallpaper art; and a PDF of the official strategy guide.
For those who think that Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box will be the perfect gift for a loved one (or for themselves!), Valentine e-cards will be available at http://www.passionfruitgames.com. The game will be available in both Mac and PC versions.
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Marjorie M. Liu is an attorney, and the New York Times bestselling author of short stories, novellas, and two ongoing series: Dirk & Steele novels of paranormal romance, and the Hunter Kiss urban fantasy series. She wrote NYX: No Way Home, for Marvel Comics, and is co-writing the ongoing bestselling Dark Wolverine series. Marjorie divides her time between the American Midwest, and Beijing/Shanghai, China. For a complete listing of all her work, please visit her website at: http://www.marjoriemliu.com
PassionFruit Games was founded by a group of individuals who had created several critically-acclaimed casual games together before establishing their own independent studio. Their mission is to bring stories and characters to life through lushly-painted interactive environments and captivating cinematics, while providing engaging, entertaining gameplay. The PassionFruit Games team members also worked on the critically acclaimed Nancy Drew Dossier game at Her Interactive, Inc.; the game was recently chosen as the ?Best Hidden Object Game of 2009? by Yahoo! Games, listed as a ?Best of 2009: Editor?s Choice? game on Gamezebo, and was nominated for ?Best of 2009: Hidden Object? at Jay Is Games.
Tiger Eye, The novel???????????????????????????????????????????????? ????
Marjorie M. Liu????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dorchester Love Spell paperback, $ 6.99, 342 pages????
ISBN: 0-5-5-52626-3; available now???????????????????? ????
http://www.marjoriemliu.com
Tiger Eye, The game
For more information contact: elnea(at)wunderkind-pr(dot)com
cell: 917-887-0784
Available April 2010
http://www.passionfruitgames.com
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